The Bolgatanga Police Commander Chief Superintendent Richard Anaba Salifu has denied reports that they fired live ammunition at some market women during a protest.
The Bolga Municipal Police command today May 11, 2020, arrested 27 market women who clashed with the police after refusing to move to an old market due to the social distancing protocol.
The women after refusing to move clashed with the police and started pelting stones at the police officers and that led to the firing of rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Mr Anaba has moved to deny reports by the women that the police fired live ammunition.
“It was about 9:00 am in the morning and I had a call that the market women were demonstrating and they were on their way to the municipal assembly and we met them halfway. I was at a meeting earlier with the assembly and we asked and agreed that they move to the old market to help in decongestion to enable the social distancing protocol to work. It was only for some particular sellers. This they did not agree and they did not want to comply, I asked them to disperse they refused, so I instructed my men to use minimum force, they all dispersed and they later turned up at the police station and pelted stones at us, we then had to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them, we never used live ammunition as they claim, if we used live bullets they would have sustained injuries”.
The women clad in red bands were about 60 and made their decision clear that they do not want to move from the new markets.
27 of the market women have been arrested and were sent to the Circuit court today.
Some were granted bail with justifications and some also appealed but it was brushed off.
